Journal of Scientific Research and Reports

The risk of microbiological and physicochemical contamination of rainwater especially during collection and storage has long been a persistent challenge. This study was carried out to assess the quality of rainwater used within communities in Calabar. Rainwater samples were aseptically collected from three locations within Calabar; Atimbo, Etta Agbo and Calabar South, the samples were analysed for total heterotrophic bacterial (THB), total fungi (TF), and total coliform (TC). The average total heterotrophic bacterial counts were 1.22x10⁶cfu/ml for samples from Atimbo, 1.01x10⁶cfu/ml in samples from Calabar South and 1.56x10⁶cfu/ml in the samples from Etta Agbo. The total fungal counts produced insignificant results in the three samples analysed. The highest total coliform count was obtained in rainwater harvested from Calabar South (2.05x10⁶cfu/ml), followed by Etta Agbo (1.92x10⁶cfu/ml) while Atimbo had the lowest count of 1.66x10⁶cfu/ml. The physicochemical characteristics of the three samples analysed indicate that the rain water was physically not suitable for drinking and other domestic and industrial use, but chemically fit for adequate utilisation.